PHILADELPHIA — A federal appeals panel on Thursday reversed a lower court decision that had released Mahmoud Khalil from an immigration jail, a ruling that moves the federal government closer to detaining and potentially deporting the Palestinian activist.
A three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia directed the lower court to dismiss Khalil’s habeas petition, the legal filing that had initially secured his release. In a 2-1 decision, the panel determined that the federal district court in New Jersey lacked the jurisdiction to intervene in the matter.
The judges wrote that under federal immigration laws, challenges to deportation must be made by filing a petition for review of a final order of removal directly with a federal appeals court, rather than through a lower-level district court.
“That scheme ensures that petitioners get just one bite at the apple—not zero or two,” the panel stated in its opinion. “But it also means that some petitioners, like Khalil, will have to wait to seek relief for allegedly unlawful government conduct.”
The ruling serves as a significant victory for the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to detain and deport noncitizens involved in protests against Israel. Khalil, a 30-year-old lawful permanent resident and former Columbia University graduate student, was the first protester arrested in what has become a broader campaign to remove student activists and academics whom the administration alleges have links to extremism—charges Khalil has repeatedly denied.
Khalil’s legal team has argued that the deportation efforts are retaliatory measures intended to suppress free speech. While Thursday’s decision effectively bars Khalil from using a habeas petition to attack his detention and removal, it is likely not the final development in his complex legal battle.
The activist was previously released in June after a district judge ruled that the government could not detain him based on foreign policy reasons cited by the administration. However, the appeals court found that the district judge had overstepped his authority by intervening in the immigration process.
Messages seeking comment from Khalil and his attorneys were not immediately returned following the release of the opinion.
